Sturgeon?

sussex river man · Sep 30, 2012

I have just read this weeks angers mail and on page 6 there is an article on a bloke called Rikki Cooper who was teaching a group how to catch catfish when big shoal of sturgeon arrived in there swim!
Now in the article it said that sturgeon are not legal in uk waters, i just wanted to know why? i know that they can grow very big and i guess they could cause alot of problems on fish stocks? but could they do anymore damage than catfish?

sam vimes · Sep 30, 2012

There are plenty of (non-native) sturgeon in UK stillwaters that have been introduced with the knowledge of the EA. How that is the case if they are illegal is quite beyond me. Sturgeon are also occasionally found in UK rivers perfectly naturally.

shields144 · Sep 30, 2012

I read that if a sturgeon over a certain size is caught in the uk then it has to be given to the queen/the royal family?

sam vimes · Sep 30, 2012

shields144 said:
I read that if a sturgeon over a certain size is caught in the uk then it has to be given to the queen/the royal family?

Wild sturgeon caught in UK rivers are deemed to be the property of the Crown.

Titus · Sep 30, 2012

I was told this story by my great uncle who was one of the last licensed professional salmon nets-men on the Towy.

Big Fish

sussex river man · Sep 30, 2012

If there are no major drawbacks with having them in uk waters then i don't see why there hasn't been more of them stocked. They would represent the ultimate specimen fish and a natural progression for anglers who have caught large wels catfish.

sam vimes · Sep 30, 2012

sussex river man said:
If there are no major drawbacks with having them in uk waters then i don't see why there hasn't been more of them stocked. They would represent the ultimate specimen fish and a natural progression for anglers who have caught large wels catfish.

There are several different species of sturgeon. The ones that crop up occasionally in UK stillwaters aren't the type that grow as huge as the one in the link. I suspect that a change in EA policy, with regards the stocking of non-native species, means that there won't be any further legal stillwater stockings. Although sturgeon do occur naturally in UK rivers, they are nomadic between rivers and sea and wouldn't be considered resident fish. I doubt that the EA will be running stocking programs for them. Anyone wishing to fish seriously for sturgeon would be better served travelling to Canada or perhaps Eastern Europe.

Merv Harrison · Sep 30, 2012

There used to be a Sturgeon, (Rocky), in a Hull & District Angling Association water, (Motorway Pond), last caught at 26lb. Rumour a couple of years back, was that it had been secreted into another nearby pond.

sam vimes · Sep 30, 2012

Merv Harrison said:
There used to be a Sturgeon, (Rocky), in a Hull & District Angling Association water, (Motorway Pond), last caught at 26lb. Rumour a couple of years back, was that it had been secreted into another nearby pond.

Fairview Lake near Selby has a few in and I believe that there's a match type commercial near Hull with a few.

dangermouse · Sep 30, 2012

Someone I chatted to bankside was telling me they`d caught a small sturgeon in a local commercial. Not sure where they said they`d caught it, might have been Roundwood.

simon dunbar · Sep 30, 2012

The lake which features in the A.M. article is about 4 acres and contains some very large catfish and sturgeon , I don't think huge Sturgeon should be stocked into tiny ponds like this .
Much nicer to catch them from the River Fraser !

terry m · Sep 30, 2012

Shatterford Lakes at Kidderminster have a few, I once saw a 14lber being caught - weird!

Agree that the Fraser or the St Lawrence is the proper place to target these behemoths.

The Sogster · Oct 3, 2012

dangermouse said:
Someone I chatted to bankside was telling me they`d caught a small sturgeon in a local commercial. Not sure where they said they`d caught it, might have been Roundwood.

I would guess that it was actually Pinchmill fisheries, my mate has had one out at about six pounds several years ago.

dangermouse · Oct 3, 2012

The Sogster said:
I would guess that it was actually Pinchmill fisheries, my mate has had one out at about six pounds several years ago.

Could be (as Henry used to say), IIRC the kid said it weighed about 7lbs.

Pinchmill is at Whiston isn`t it? Funny I lived there for years and never tried fishing there.

Chevin · Oct 5, 2012

In the early sixties, I was shown a photograph of a 186lb sturgeon that was caught many years earlier in the mill pool at Hemmingford Grey on the Great Ouse. That one would most certainly have swum up from the sea, but whether or not it was given to the Monarch of the time, I have no idea.

Colin Brett · Oct 7, 2012

Chevin said:
In the early sixties, I was shown a photograph of a 186lb sturgeon that was caught many years earlier in the mill pool at Hemmingford Grey on the Great Ouse. That one would most certainly have swum up from the sea, but whether or not it was given to the Monarch of the time, I have no idea.

While another couple that had probably taken the same route are remembered in the Pickerel Inn at Mepal, Cambs

F History

I did ask a guy from the EA about stocking the Gt Ouse with White Sturgeon to say he wasn't keen was an understatement. His reply was the same when I said they were indigenous to the Fens and the Ouse. So people have no sense of adventure.

neuvy · Oct 15, 2012

sussex river man said:
I have just read this weeks angers mail and on page 6 there is an article on a bloke called Rikki Cooper who was teaching a group how to catch catfish when big shoal of sturgeon arrived in there swim!
Now in the article it said that sturgeon are not legal in uk waters, i just wanted to know why? i know that they can grow very big and i guess they could cause alot of problems on fish stocks? but could they do anymore damage than catfish?

We fish for lake sturgeon over here in France, they are hard fighting, big fish, I think the record is about 50kg. They are a little fragile like Barbel in that after a fight you have to let them recover before releasing back to the water. I caught my first one this year on a single maggot, it was over a metre long and they are really strange fish close up.
I can't imagine that they would cause problems with other fish as they live happily side by side here with all the native species of Europe and those that are in the UK too. They are I believe the 'original' fish, originating 200,000,000 years ago, they are almost extinct in many countries having been commercially over fished, they don't become sexually mature until they are twenty years old and so like many sharks, have a hard time reproducing effectively.
Maybe the EA will have a rethink as they are endangered and need all the help that they can get.

Sturgeon?

sussex river man

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